"In An Old Drug, New Hope For Depression"
The science behind antidepressants has not advanced in half a century. New discoveries, including research into the anesthetic ketamine, could change everything. One of the most promising research targets for depression is the class of receptors in the brain that regulate the neurotransmitter glutamate. Dennis S. Charney, MD, the Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and President for Academic Affairs at the Mount Sinai Health System, first observed the ability of ketamine—an anesthetic mainly used in veterinary medicine, and also known as the illicit party drug ‘Special K’—to manipulate the glutamate system, and act as an antidepressant.
- Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, President, Academic Affairs, Mount Sinai Health System
